Posted on by Barky Boy

National Little Pampered Dog Day 2023: What It Is & How to Celebrate

National Little Pampered Dog Day is celebrated on April 27th of each year. The founders of “Little Pampered Dog” magazine created the holiday with the intention of not only honoring dog owners who go above and beyond to care for their canine companions but also of bringing attention to the difficulties faced by dogs around the world who are not fortunate enough to live in a safe and loving environment.

Read on below to find out more.

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What Is National Little Pampered Dog Day?

According to the founding company, National Little Pampered Dog Day is for people who meet two criteria:

  • Your Love Your Dog: This criterion is self-explanatory and should describe most dog owners. This holiday is for those who consider their dogs members of their family and seek to consider their needs.

  • Pampering is Okay: You can’t really celebrate this holiday if you don’t think dogs should be pampered. Some of what the company considers pampering is a bit controversial.1 For instance, the company considers dressing up your dog as part of pampering. According to the magazine, many dogs aren’t lucky enough to be pampered in this way.

Furthermore, the purpose of this holiday is three-fold:

  • Celebrate Owners: First and foremost, the holiday is about celebrating owners that meet the above criteria. It’s about recognizing those that pamper their dogs.

  • Bringing Awareness: The holiday also brings awareness to dogs that aren’t pampered. According to the magazine, not all dogs are so lucky.

  • Communicate Love: The company implemented to holiday to emphasize that dogs are living things that deserve to be happy and healthy. The holiday consists of making your dog happy to the extreme by taking them for a spa day or dressing them up.

owner cuddling and hugging her pet pomeranian dog
Image Credit: Alina Kruk, Shutterstock

How to Celebrate

The company provides several different ways that those interested in celebrating can take part. For the most part, this holiday is only run and implemented by this magazine, so you probably won’t find any events near you.

Here are some of the ways you can celebrate:

  • Spread the word. The company recommends spreading the word about the holiday via social media, preferably by sharing pictures of your pampered dog. The company encourages the owners to decide what “pampering” means.

  • Bring awareness to dogs in need of a home. Sadly, many dogs are without homes and loving owners. The company encourages using this day to promote adopting dogs, as they also deserved to be pampered.

  • Giving your time and resources to a local shelter is a positive way to give back that goes beyond just you and your pet.

  • Spoil your dog. Of course, you can also spoil your dog on this day (and throughout the rest of the year).

So, Why Is It Controversial?

Despite being a seemingly benign holiday, National Little Pampered Dog Day has gotten a bit of heat over the past few years, which may be why it isn’t more popular. There are several arguments against this holiday.

For instance, one common argument is that it emphasizes consumerism around pets. Critics may argue that spending money on pampering a pet with designer outfits and expensive spa treatments is excessive and detracts from the true purpose of pet ownership, which is to provide love. It also leaves out lower-income families who love their dogs but cannot pamper them as they would like to. Many may feel that this holiday puts them in a “less than” category because they don’t fit this magazine’s version of a “good dog owner.”

bernese dog cuddling with his owner
Image Credit: Africa Studio, Shutterstock

Furthermore, the inclusion of “little” may neglect larger breeds, which often appear in shelters in larger numbers. As this day is at least partially focused on dog adoption, many consider it counterintuitive to only focus on smaller dogs. However, it appears that the magazine mostly invented this holiday for marketing purposes, and the magazine does focus on smaller dogs. With that said, the company’s website does encourage all dog owners to participate, including those with larger dogs.

There are many supporters of the holiday too. Many argue that it’s just a fun way to celebrate dogs. Others say that pampering a pet can be a form of self-care for the owner. Of course, there are many that state that all dogs should be pampered.

Ultimately, whether or not someone supports National Little Pampered Dog Day is a matter of personal opinion and values regarding pet ownership.

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Final Thoughts

National Little Pampered Dog Day was created by the magazine and lifestyle company Little Pampered Dog. As the name suggests, this magazine and holiday focus on pampering dogs. However, the phrase “little” is a bit misleading, as it doesn’t just focus on little dogs (though that does seem to be the main focus of the magazine).

The holiday’s main purpose is to celebrate owners that go above and beyond for their dogs. It’s for those that pamper their pooch and enjoy the Little Pampered Pooch community.

However, this holiday has been a bit controversial over the past few years. Whatever you feel about this day, it also encourages owners to adopt dogs sitting in shelters. And we can all get behind that.

Sources

Featured Image Credit: Lizardflms, Shutterstock

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